dickerson



E. E. DICKERSQN.

FAN.

I APPLICATION FILEDJUNE|21 1915. l 1 94,505 Patented Aug. 15, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR 3 A TTOR/VE 7 UNIT TATE PATENT @FFTCE.

EUSTICE E. DICKERSON, OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS.

FAN.

Application filed June 12, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EUSTICE E. DIGKER- SON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Fort lVorth, in the county of Tarrant and State ofTexas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fans, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention has relation to a fan or blower for the conveyance ofmaterials such as cotton, cotton seed, saw dust or the like, partlyunder suction and partly under air pressure, from a source of supply toa point where the materials are to be delivered and in such connectionit relates more particularly in the construction and arrangement of theparts of the fan or blower structure whereby the travel of the materialis continuous being drawn under suction from and delivered to theobjective points under pressure of air without the material coming incontact with the blades 'of the fan or blower.

Heretofore in the transportation of materials partly under'suction andpartly under pressure, where but one fan or blower instrumentality wasused, the materials came in direct contact with the blades of the fan.The obvious disadvantage of such a construction in the handling ofcotton, for instance, has heretofore prevented the use of a single fanor blower and so far as I am aware a plurality of vacuum orair, pressurecreating means is universally employed in the transportation of suchmaterials where the material is to be received under suction and tobedelivered either under suction or air pres sure.

The main object of my present invention is to provide a single fan orblower arranged to draw the materials by suction from one point and todeliver the same under air pressure to another point, the material at nopoint of its travel coming into contact withv the fan or blower blades.

In carrying out my invention there are provided certain parts orinstrumentalities namely,first, a chamber into which the cot ton isreceived and which may be called a from the fan or blower. Second, acentral.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 15, 319116.

Serial No. 33,669.

chamber wherein the fan or blower revolves,

said central chamber being separated from the air pressure chamberthrough which the materials pass by a screen wall surroundingsubstantially the entire periphery of the fan or blower, the saidcentral chamber provided with an outlet tangential to the periphery ofthe fan or blower leading to the outlet pipe of the fan. The fan orblower thus has communication through one side with a suctloncompartment separated by screen partition from the suction pipe orcompartment through which the materials are to travel and the fan orblower has communication through a screened wall inclosing the peripheryof the fan with air pressure through which or a portion of which thematerial travels, the air pressure chamber having an inlet from thesuction pipe or chamber through which the material travels and an outletinto the pipe leading from the fan.

The nature and scope of my invention will be more fully understood fromthe following description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings forming part hereof, in which,-

Figure 1, is a side elevational view partly broken away of a fan orblower embodying main features of my invention. Fig. 2, is across-sectional view taken on line a, a of Fig. 1. Fig. 3, is alongitudinal sectional view taken on line b, 7) of Fig. 2. Fig. 4;, is aview corresponding to Fig. 1 but illustrating a modified form of theinvention. Fig. 5, is a cross-sectional view taken on line 0, c of Fig.4. Fig. 6, is a longitudinal sectional view taken on line (Z, (Z of Fig.5, and Fig. 7, is a view corresponding to Fig. 5 but illustrating astill further modified form of the invention.

Referring to the drawings and particu larly to Figs. 1 to 3, the shellor casing for the fan and blower mechanism consists essentially of threeparts, a main, substantially cylindrical body 1 wherein the fan orblower is designed to rotate, a suction chamber 2 communicating with thefan chamber at the center of the fan and an outlet or discharge chambercomprising a duct 3 projecting tangentially or taking off peripherallyfrom the body 1 in which the fan revolves. The main chamber or casing 1is divided into two chambers Or compartments by a screen partition 4which is arranged slightly eccentric to the periphery of the fan andwith a horizontal portion 5 extending parallel with the outer wall ofduct 3. The portion 5 of the screen partition thus divides the duct 3into two passage ways of which the upper is preferably larger incross-sectional area and the lower forms the open terminus G for thereceiving and discharging air pressure chamber 7 of the fan.

The suction chamber 2 is divided into two compartments 8 and 9 by apartition 10. The compartment 8 is in open communication with the sideof the fan chamber 1, the opening from compartment 8 to chamber 1 beingso arranged as to take in all the suction area at the side of the fan.The par tition 10 is partly solid for a portion of its length and partlyperforated. The solid portion is vertically disposed as at 1O parallelto the sides of the fan and the perforated portion 10" is downwardlyinclined and curved or bellied and extends from the vertical portion 10'to the edge of the screen partition 4.

The outer wall 11 of the chamber 2 is solid and is downwardly inclinedas at 11" to form with portion 10 of partition 10 a hopper in the top ofsaid chamber into which the material from a pipe 12 is dropped, saidhopper having imperforate sides and a contracted lower end. Theremainder of the outer wall of chamber 2 is first inwardly curved orbellied as at 11 and then outwardly bellied or curved as at 11 andjoined to the outer portion of main casing 1.

The portion 9 of chamber 2 for the conveying of material by suction isthus divided into a hopper having a contracted outlet at a point wheresuction through perforated portion 10 begins, and an expanded chamber orroom at the base under the full suction of the fan terminating in acontracted inlet 2 to the pressure chamber 7 of the fan.

The fan itself consists of a series of blades 13 projecting radiallyfrom a spider 1- keyed or otherwise secured to a shaft 15 traversing thecasing 1 and extending beyond the imperforate side wall 1 thereof intobearings 16. The shaft is rotated by means of pulley 17 to which poweris transmitted in any suitable way.

In Figs. l, 5 and 6 a modified form of the fan is illustrated where thepipe or duct 12 enters the side of the suction chamber rather than atthe top, as does pipe 12 in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. This change in the inletto chamber 2 necessitates a change in form and arrangement but not ofprinciple in the suction chamber. In this form the chamber 2 is oflozenge or diamond shape in cross section and is divided into chambers 8and 9* by a perforated partition 20 traversing the chamber 2 diagonallyfrom the upper right hand corner to a point where it joins the partition4: of the fan chamber. In Fig. 7 a still further modified form ofsuction chamber for use with a horizontal supply pipe 12 is shown. Inthis form the partition 30 is perforated and extends horizontally from apoint opposite the axis of fan shaft 15 to the front or right hand wallof the chamber 2 to a point a little below the top of the enlarged inlet12 from pipe 12". The lower compartment 9 thus formed, is divided intotwo by an imperforate plate 31 stitutes a passageway for the materialunder suction from the inlet pipe to the pressure chamber 7 of the fan.The material is discharged into this pressure chamber 7 and is blowntangentially of the fan through the. terminus 6 to the discharge pipe32.

The material is thus drawn into the fan and forced under pressure of airtherefrom without coming into direct contact with or proximity to thefan blades, and the material is not forced to travel entirely throughthe fan chamber but only tangentially through a portion thereof.

Having thus described the nature and objects of my invention what Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,-

1. In a combined fan and blower, a main casing for the fan, a suctionchamber communicating with the side of said casing and an outlet leadingfrom the main casing tangentially to the periphery of the fan blades, ascreen partition arranged within the main casing eccentric to the fanand dividing the main easing into a fan chamber and an air pressurechamber, said partition projecting through the tangential outlet todivide the same into two ducts whereof one forms the terminus for theair pressure chamber, a partition dividing the suction chamber into twocompartments, said partition being perforated for a portion of itslength, one of the compartments forming a passageway for the cottonunder suction and delivering the same to the terminus of the airpressure chamber.

2. In a combined fan and blower, a fan casing having a suction inlet atone side, a perforated partition eccentrically arranged within saidcasing and dividing the same into two eccentric chambers, the outer ofwhich forms an air pressure chamber separated from the fan by thepartition, and a suction chamber arranged at right angles to thepressure chamber and to the suction inlet to the fan, combined withmeans for dividing the suction chamber into two compartments, said meansbeing perforated to bring the compartment farthest from the fan undersuction, said farthest compartment discharging at right angles into thepressure chamber of the fan.

3. In a fan or blower, a main chamber divided into a fan and a pressurechamber separated by a screen partition, a suction chamber divided intotwo compartments by a screen partition, one of said compartments beingin open communication with the fan chamber and the other constitutingthe suc- &

tion passage way for the material, said passageway discharging directlyinto the pressure chamber, and an outlet projecting tangentially fromthe main chamber and divided by a perforated partition into two ducts,whereof one forms the terminus for the air pressure chamber.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

EUSTICE E. DICKERSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five: cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

